So Anchita was taken to the principal’s office, and her father was called the next day. A serious discussion happened, and Anchita was asked to stay away from school for a week. She was not exactly suspended, as she was a very good student, but the principal told her father the other parents would be satisfied if she did not attend classes for some time. She would still get to give the exams at the end of the year.

Anchita’s father drove her home from school. They started the journey in silence.

‘Why couldn’t Maa come?’

‘As in?’

‘Why didn’t the principal call Maa? Why you? Is it a father-is-better-than-mother thing?’

Anchita’s father knew the way her mind worked. She could notice these things.

‘No, Anchita. It is a Balangir thing.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning, I was asked to come because I am a government official. Your mother is not. The principal would find it easier to explain to your classmates’ parents that she met Anchita’s father, who is a DFO. It helps.’

‘Okay. Politics.’

‘Umm, yes. You could say that.’

They drove on. The school was fifteen kilometres west of Balangir, so they had to pass through town on the way to Deogan.

‘You know, Anchita, I have been meaning to talk to you about this. You can’t go around calling people thieves.’

‘I didn’t call that boy a thief. I said his father was.’

‘Yes, but …’

‘Isn’t he? You know he is.’

‘Who, Patnaik? He is not a nice person, yes, and …’

‘And he is a thief!’

‘He is corrupt, yes. There are different kinds of corruption, you know. Sometimes people take money to do things. Sometimes they use their official power to get things done for other people …’

‘Like Patnaik is helping the Company.’

‘Umm, yes. But you still can’t go around talking to your classmates like that.’

‘Why not? I was just telling the truth.’

Anchita’s father sighed. One of the good things about talking to his daughter was she was really intelligent and could notice things. You did not have to explain a lot, and you didn’t have to hide things. But it was sometimes difficult to have a conversation with her because she could be so direct.

‘Anchita, there are different kinds of truth. People don’t always see things the same way.’

‘Maybe, but I just don’t like him. He’s polite.’

‘Really? That is a good thing. I wish you were.’

‘I mean, he is polite, but not in the way you think. He just talks nicely to people, but you can see that he is just being nice to them even though he thinks he is better than them. He looks down on them. He … I don’t know exactly how to explain it …’

‘The word you are looking for, I think, is condescending.’

‘Yes, that one.’

‘You should have known the word.’

‘I knew it. Of course I did.’